#48 Seesaw Perspectives

When I was a kid, I loved going to the local park to run around the playground taking turns on the merry-go-round, the swings, and the monkey bars. My absolute favorite, though, was the seesaw.

The most common playground design of the seesaw featured a board balanced in the center. A person sits on each end, and they take turns pushing their feet against the ground to lift their side into the air. 

I remember giggling like crazy when my friend and I would bounce up and down, pushing harder and higher, trying to make one of us fall off.

In many ways, the seesaw reminds me of too many unproductive conversations I’ve heard over the years.

Often we get caught up in our perspective or point-of-view.

Perspectives are shaped by life experiences, values, assumptions, and situations; it’s the way we see the world. It informs what is commonly known as a point-of-view.

Perspectives can become myopic, like pushing too hard on that seesaw. Or not noticing what can be seen when you are high up in the air versus on the ground. Perhaps your partner on the seesaw, who is facing a different direction, notices things obscured from your view.

At its worst, we become so entrenched in our perspective; we lose sight of reality. We limit our potential and knowledge. We surround ourselves with “yes” people. We push people away.

Allowing your partner on the seesaw to rise to the top and see other perspectives is essential.

Seesaws are not much fun without someone on the other side.

The same is true in conversation, in dialogue. 

We would benefit from more Perspective Taking.

Yes, that’s a real thing. 

The American Psychological Association defines Perspective Taking as:

[The action of] looking at a situation from a viewpoint that is different from one’s usual viewpoint. This may involve adopting the perspective of another person or that associated with a particular social role, as in role play exercises.

There are two imperative #leadership capabilities for the #futureofwork -- happening now.

Listen More. 

Ask More.

A June 2019 article, The Importance of Taking the Perspective of Others , written by David W. Johnson Ed.D. and published in Psychology Today emphasizes the importance and value of inviting other perspectives into the conversation.

There are five lessons from this article:

1.      Recognize each of us has their own unique perspective.

2.      A person’s perspective selects and organizes what the person attends to and experiences.

3.      People can have different perspectives at different times. 

4.      The same message can mean two entirely different things from two different perspectives. 

5.      Misunderstandings often occur because we assume that everyone sees things from the same perspective as we do.

Dirty Dozen lesson #5 – Perspective Taking

My articles intended to invite other perspectives into the conversation by design. I attempted to do this by using a metaphor or by offering an alternative point-of-view on a subject.

I once had a reader post a response with a stern, extreme alternate perspective to my thinking.

I engaged this individual twice openly on LinkedIn to understand the other way of thinking about the topic. Seemingly unwilling to see another point-of-view, I invited this person to a casual get-to-know-you call so we could chat about it. 

It was a wonderful conversation where we exchanged ideas with an open mind.  We concluded we each had some valid points yet understood which personal experiences shaped our respective points-of-view.

Johnson wrote, “Once people can view the issue and situation both from their own perspective and the other persons’ perspectives, they can more easily find mutually beneficial solutions. Perspective taking also communicates that one really understands their thoughts, feelings, and needs. It is usually easier to jointly solve a problem when the other people feel understood and respected. ”

I was glad to have had a chat with this individual and expanding my thinking as a result.

How will you start perspective taking?